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Sir Billy Connolly has frankly reflected on his life with Parkinson’s disease, saying, “It will finish me off, but that’s fine with me.”
The 78-year-old Scottish comedian was diagnosed with the degenerative condition in 2013, but continued touring for another four years.
His last appearance on stage was in 2017, when he performed his last stand-up comedy concerts as part of his High Horse tour.
Although he officially retired in 2018, the comedian announced earlier this year that he was ‘done with stand-up’ for good.
Now, in a new documentary, set to air on ITV, ‘The Big Yin’ has opened up about the condition and his departure from the comedy stage.
According to The Mirror, during part of the documentary, in which he looks back on the final tour, he says: ‘It was obvious from my movement, that I was not who I used to be. So I had to explain it … just to say it doesn’t define me.
The 78-year-old Scottish comedian was diagnosed with the degenerative disease in 2013, but continued to tour for another four years.
He said goodbye to the stage in 2017, when he held his last stand-up comedy concert as part of his High Horse tour.
Now, in a new documentary, which will air on ITV, ‘The Big Yin’ has opened up about the condition and his departure from stand-up.
“He got me and he will get me and he will finish me, but that’s fine with me.”
The comedian, who vowed never to return to the stage during the show, also paid tribute to his fans. He added: ‘It’s been a pleasure talking to you all these years.
‘From the beginning, when I was a folkie, to the end, I couldn’t have done anything without you. You have been magnificent.
During the documentary, called Billy Connolly: It’s Been A Pleasure, the comedian remembers his career on stage. The program features clips of your best workouts.
The Celtic FC-loving comedian, who was born in Glasgow but now lives in Florida, also highlights his 1975 interview with Michael Parkinson with his rise to fame during the documentary.
His wife of 31 years, Pamela, with whom he has three children, also appears in the documentary, saying that the move to Florida has been “fantastic for me.”
Guest appearances in the documentary include Sir Paul McCartney, Sir Elton John, Sir Lenny Henry, Dustin Hoffman, Russell Brand, Whoopi Goldberg, Aisling Bea and Sheridan Smith, who will recall Billy’s 60-year career on stage.
ITV producers said: ‘Sir Billy Connolly recently announced that he is officially withdrawing from the live performance.
To mark this important moment in comedy history, this star-studded hour-long special celebrates Billy’s anarchic genius and his life-affirming style of humor.
During the documentary, called Billy Connolly: It’s Been A Pleasure, the comedian remembers his career on stage. The show features clips of their best routines. In the photo: Billy Connolly and Michael Parkinson in 1987
The Celtic FC-loving comedian, who was born in Glasgow but now lives in Florida, also highlights his 1975 interview with Michael Parkinson (pictured: Billy Connolly) with his rise to fame during the documentary.
“There are also unique new ideas from the woman who knows Billy best – his wife and soulmate, Pamela Stephenson.”
His A-list fans will share their memories of Billy, send him personal messages, and choose his highlights from his glorious catalog of comedies. The man himself will react to your choices and reveal his own favorites. ‘
‘Billy Connolly: It’s Been A Pleasure is a definitive celebration of an all-time smash hit. An uplifting, emotional and fun hour in the company of the legendary Big Yin in his entertaining prime. This will make you laugh. It can even make you cry. A fitting farewell for a standing megastar.
Glasgow-born Billy Connolly is passionate about Celtic FC and has regularly attended Celtic Park.
In the early 1970s, Connolly transitioned from a folk singer with a comedic personality to a full-fledged comedian, for which he is now better known.
In 1972, he made his theatrical debut, at the Cottage Theater in Cumbernauld, with a magazine called Connolly’s Glasgow Flourish. He also played at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival.
Known for his idiosyncratic and often improvised observation comedy, which frequently includes the use of profanity, in 2007, Connolly was voted best stand-up comic on Channel 4’s 100 Greatest Stand-Ups, and again on the 2010 updated survey.
He was knighted in 2017 for his comedy and entertainment services.
The ITV program follows a BBC documentary in January 2019, called Made in Scotland, where he also spoke candidly about his condition.
Speaking during that documentary, he said, ‘It can’t be denied, I’m 75 [at the time of filming]I have Parkinson’s and I’m at the wrong end of the telescope of life, I’m at the point where yesterdays mean more than yesterdays.
‘Because it is there in my childhood and youth when I go to all those things that made me live more alive in my memory now.
‘My life, it’s slipping away and I can feel it and it should.’
Billy Connolly: It’s Been A Pleasure airs on ITV Monday, December 28 at 9:30 p.m.
